Green Lantern: In Blackest Night
by CherylSongbow
Summary: Tales of the Prime Universe, Book 1. In Universe-72 Miri is not quite fast enough, and Kyle's ring gets pulled into the Prime universe to fall into the hands of Janet McCullen. Now her universe's sole Green Lantern, she must overcome her fears as the Blackest Night approaches.
1. Chapter 1

"You can't stop them," Amber proclaimed. "Cut off a limb, it just grows right back. Cut off a head, it does the same. Hell, you could _nuke_ 'em and their bodies would just reconstruct themselves. And they're tryin' to wipe out all life. _And_ they feed on emotion, which means if you feel any fear or anger or anythin' whatsoever, you're _dead_. Best. Zombies. Ever."

"Yeah, until they rip out your heart," Janet added.

"And you seriously _enjoy_ this?" Brittany asked.

"It's comics," Amber said, giggling as she shifted her most recent copy of _Blackest Night_ in her arms. "What's _not_ to enjoy?"

Amber Nelson, the short, plump blonde with the southern drawl and the computer science major, was arguably the biggest geek of the three friends. She knew all sorts of obscure information about various superheroes, some of whom the other two had never heard of, but especially loved anything and everything involving Batman and Gotham. Physical education major Brittany Nguyen, her polar opposite, was tall, dark, and athletic and hardly knew anything about superheroes-though Amber had succeeded in getting her interested in Spiderman, at least. And Janet McCullen, the slim brunette with an English major, had a veritable obsession with the Green Lantern Corps and all its members as well as a good knowledge of one JLA run, but otherwise wasn't very familiar with the comic book world. No one would have thought the three would have become such good friends, but ever since they had worked together on a group project in a killer psychology class they had been very close.

Amber shivered and held her comic more tightly as a cold gust of wind passed by them. "I tell you, though, Lex Luthor with an orange power ring? Very bad news. Lookin' forward to Larfleeze's reaction, though."

"I am so getting that tonight," Janet told her, grinning.

"Only if I get yours," Amber retorted. "I wanna know what happens to Kyle!" Janet's grin widened as she fingered her own comic, _Green Lantern Corps_ #43.

"Ooh, she's happy," Brittany observed. "Let me guess; he survives?"

If Janet's grin had gotten any bigger, it would have split her face for certain. "Spoilers."

Amber pumped her fist. "Yes!"

Janet's good mood didn't keep her from a quick shiver. February wasn't as cold in Kentucky as in Pennsylvania, but still cold enough, and worse so since sunset half an hour before. At least they were only a few blocks away from campus. She opened her mouth to suggest walking more quickly-why did everyone else always have to move so slow?-but her words died on her lips as there was a sudden shriek just around the corner. The three girls stopped and looked at each other, then broke into a run, Janet and Brittany quickly outstripping Amber as they reached the corner and hurried around.

The mugger-some kid, probably, judging by his lanky frame-glanced in their direction and then took off, the woman's purse in hand. Janet's first thought was to wonder what the hell he was thinking, robbing someone in a college town, and then she realized that he was getting away. She just shoved her comic at Amber, who was trying to pull out her phone, and broke into a run pursuing him, just behind the longer-legged Brittany as she called, "Call the police!"

The mugger disappeared around the next corner and Janet and Brittany followed him into an open gravel-filled lot. There were a few items of junk that they had to dodge, but a moment later they were out in the open and both girls put on a burst of speed. He was only a few yards ahead of them and they were both in good shape, and they were steadily gaining on him as he ran towards a slope full of leafless shrubs and other wild growth.

"He isn't heading for the tracks...is he?" Brittany panted. Janet didn't bother to answer; drawing so much cold air into her lungs was anything but conducive to speech. He crashed through the branches, tossing the purse aside as he went, and the girls followed, though Brittany slowed to grab the purse, which let Janet get ahead.

The slope was treacherous, with loose gravel and all sorts of stones and roots hidden by the growing darkness. Fortunately, Janet had hiked it several times with Ashley and Matt and, having grown up at the edge of a forest, she had a pretty good sense of balance and footing on slopes. Her increased speed going downhill was certainly a bit dangerous, but she closed the distance even more.

A rock suddenly seemed to appear to her right, and acting out of instinct she sprang at it, planting her foot firmly atop it, and then launched herself at the fleeing mugger, only a few yards from the bottom of the slope, and maybe a hundred feet from the old train station.

Their collision nearly knocked the wind out of her; her hard landing on the slope actually did so. She slid a short distance before scrambling to her feet, trying to ignore the scrapes on her hards that were already beginning to smart, and turned to face the mugger. He certainly was young, as young as any of the freshmen on campus, and boy was he fast! He dodged her awkward punch rather easily, and she was barely fast enough to mostly deflect his own strike back at her. It still connected with the side of her head, and she stumbled, nearly falling backward.

Brittany chose that moment to arrive, dropping down and swinging out one leg to knock his own out from under him. Thrown off-balance, he wasn't ready to hold her off, and she caught him in a head lock. Janet regained her own balance and took a step towards them, planning to help Brittany hold him till the police arrived. Clearly, though, Brittany hadn't had the best grip on him, as he suddenly squirmed out of her hold and gave both girls a heavy push, knocking them down, before he started off again.

The smart move would be to stay put and wait for the police, and give them all the details they had, like the guy's description. However, no one had ever accused Janet of always making smart moves. Scrambling back to her feet, she was about to chase after him again when a sudden flash of green light directly in front of her caused her to freeze.

"_Janet McCullen of Earth. You have the ability to overcome great fear._"

Janet stared, mouth hanging open. Was that seriously a Green Lantern ring floating in midair in front of her? What sort of joke was this? And... Oh, hell, that jerk was getting away...

Janet raised her hand and the ring shot right to her finger and slipped onto it, faster and more smoothly than any remote-controlled device ever could. A tingling chill ran through her. Hardly even thinking, she aimed the ring at the fleeing mugger, imagining a tripwire in front of him-wait, she needed more than just imagination. She forced her will into the ring. That tripwire _was_ there.

The ring glowed more brightly as a green construct faded into existence, wavering slightly, but certainly solid enough to catch the mugger's foot and send him falling to the ground. Another thought and burst of will transformed the wire into a big snake that wrapped itself around him and held him tight.

Breathing heavily, Janet realized that she was staring open-mouthed at the ring and its effects, and so was Brittany. A police siren grew louder as the two exchanged a disbelieving look. Janet finally managed to stammer, "I, uh... I think my life just got a lot more complicated."

"Y'know, that's almost exactly what I said," came a voice somewhat behind her.

Both girls spun around to see a young man, hovering above the ground, and apparantly formed of the same glowing green substance that had formed the tripwire and snake. Janet recognized him from the comics at once, and felt her jaw drop further. "No. Way."

He smiled and gave them a casual salute. "Kyle Rayner, Green Lantern. No, you're not dreaming. Yes, I'm a ghost. Well, ghost in a ring, I suppose. Long story."

"What-?" Brittany gasped out, even as Janet barely managed a "How-?"

"Like I said, long story." He glanced up the hill, towards the flashing lights of the approaching police cars. "You two should stick around and tell them what you know so they can catch that guy."

"But I-" Janet looked down towards where the mugger had been and saw nothing. "How did he-?"

"You got distracted and lost focus, losing the construct," Kyle said. "One thing that we'll have to work on. Later," he added, glancing up the hill again. "And I'll explain everything then, too."

The ring glowed brightly a moment as he faded away and then it appeared to be nothing more than a fan's prop, but Janet could feel a presence in the back of her mind, seeming to emanate from the ring. She and Brittany exchanged a flabbergasted look, but before they could even begin to compare notes there was a shout from up the hill as several policemen approached.

Brittany shot her a look and said in a low voice, "We are _so_ going to have a long talk later."

Janet gave a short nod. "Totally."


	2. Chapter 2

"But how are you dead?" Amber practically shouted. She seemed to be the least shocked of the three girls, who were currently gathered in the room she shared with Janet, and certainly seemed to have little or no problem with questioning a guy who A) should not exist, and B) was apparently a ghost in a ring construct-despite haven been saved in the most recent issue of Blackest Night; the same one that Janet had bought just earlier.

Kyle also seemed to be strangely calm about the whole idea, though as he told them, "I did have time to get used to the situation before the ring picked its new bearer. And it isn't as if this hasn't happened to me before."

"Huh?" Brittany, slumped in Amber's beanbag chair, looked at the other two with a puzzled look on her face.

"JLA issues 68-75, _The Obsidian Age_," Janet rattled off absently. She was still trying to wrap her mind around the idea that she was wearing a green power ring and that its previous bearer-her favorite Green Lantern, no less-was sitting on the edge of her desk in energy construct form. "But how?" She indicated her comic, lying open on the bed beside her. "Miri's supposed to save you; you know, the whole love thing."

"Yeah...my guess? Parallel universe."

"Oh, God," Amber groaned. "It's getting worse."

"Huh?" Brittany repeated.

"The comic shows events on Earth-Zero. _He's_ probably from a different universe. And.._we're_ Earth-Prime, aren't we?" Amber asked. "We're- We've got Superboy-Prime running around!"

"One problem at a time," Janet reminded her. "And he's powerless right now. Or should be. Anyway. You're saying in your universe Miri didn't get to you in time?"

"Apparently," Kyle said. "I'm not entirely sure how my spirit ended up in the ring-again-or how it got pulled into your universe. I think there was a rift of some sort, but my perception was a bit muddled at that time. It took me this long to remember how to work the ring from the inside just to make a construct body."

"And now Janet's a Green Lantern," Amber began, then stopped short. "Holy cow, Janet, you're a Green Lantern!"

"And one severely in need of training," Janet pointed out. If she'd lost control of a construct from just one minute of shocked distraction, she needed some serious training.

Kyle seemed to be in agreement. "Lucky for you, you've got an experienced Lantern here to help you out." Janet nodded. She was still a little in shock.

Brittany sat up. "Hey, what about the zombies you were telling me about earlier? Are we going to have to deal with those? And what about the rest of your group?"

"They probably will become an issue, and sooner than I would like," Kyle told her. "I've been thinking, and it looks to me like time flows differently here than in my home universe, which would explain why the events of one night have been stretched across several months of comics so far."

"Comic book time," Amber said. "Like Narnian time, then?"

"Exactly," Kyle said with a short grin, but quickly grew serious again. "If I'm right, then we have about a month before things get too serious. It isn't much time, but it's better than nothing."

"And you think I have what it takes?" Janet asked. Being Green Lantern was a big responsibility, and a rather daunting one at that.

Kyle gave her an encouraging smile. "The ring picked you...which is considerably more than I got. Besides, being in the ring gives me a little access to your head-and I think you'll do fine. _If_ you stay focused."

O-kay. The Torchbearer, training her, with access to her thoughts. On top of classwork. This was going to be one hard-core month.


	3. Chapter 3

Amber didn't even stir this time as Janet climbed in through the window. It took only a thought to banish the uniform and replace it with the sweats she had put on just earlier, and she collapsed into her bed. According to her clock, it was four in the morning. She'd been up since eight that morning; good thing it was Friday-or rather Saturday now-so she could sleep in a few extra hours. Heck, good thing the coming week was spring break, otherwise she was sure she'd lose her mind.

About two weeks had passed since she had first received the ring, and mental and physical exhaustion had been the order of the day, every day, since then. Kyle certainly wasn't going easy on her. The crash-course training was incredibly intense, though it was appropriate when she thought about it. After all, a Green Lantern never did have it easy, so it was best to be prepared. Though her dreams of being a Lantern hadn't ever included this. She felt a small surge of amusement from Kyle at that; as long as he was in the ring they had low-level access to each other's thoughts. That ability to communicate was certainly handy sometimes. It was also sometimes awkward, but it was definitely helping her improve her mental discipline. Just like her other skills were improving. She was at least competent now.

Somewhere in her reflections on her training, Janet drifted off to sleep.

She awoke with a start to hear the ring repeating, "_Alert. Recieving distress signal from space sector 2834. Alert. Receiving distress signal from space sector 2834. Aler-_"

"Janet, your ring," Amber's voice drifted from her bed, muffled by blankets. "Some sorta alert."

"I'm on it," Janet mumbled, crawling out of bed reluctantly. It was seven-thirty-four, way too early for an interstellar emergency! Up to this point, she'd only been involved in minor things like car accidents, bank robberies, and one almost plane crash.

_Just stay focused and remember your training_, came Kyle's mental voice from the ring. _Hopefully it's just a damaged cargo ship or something, and not pirates_.

Yeah, that was _just_ what she wanted to think about. She willed the ring to let her pass through the closed window as she launched herself toward the sky, her clothes transforming into her costume as she went. A sheath of emerald energy solidified around her as she reached the upper atmosphere and shot into space.

A lot of her training had been taking place off-planet, so that was nothing new, but this was only her second extrasystem trip. As she passed Saturn, heading for sector 2834, she felt a small thrill of excitement mixing with her nervousness and uncertainty. She tried to control the last two by not thinking about what she was headed for.

_Better increase your speed_, Kyle told her. _You don't want the emergency to be over by the time you get there_. Janet willed herself to move faster. Space blurred around her, and stars became little more than streaks of light as she sped by. Then, almost before she knew it, she was slowing down.

Just ahead of her lay an Earth-sized planet orbiting a red star. _Run a scan_, came Kyle's reminder, and she said, "Ring, scan system for anomalies."

"_Scanning. Residue of enormous power discharge near fourth planet in system. Planet surrounded by debris. Debris identified as previously belonging to sattelites. Planet identified as Vega Four, called Scyria by inhabitants. Scyrian people known to be highly peaceful_."

_Peaceful or not, that planet's in trouble_, Kyle broke in. _'Enormous power discharge' hardly begins to describe what the ring's picking up_.

"_Intercepting distress signal._ _Planet on high alert. Communications infrastructure severely damaged_."

Janet felt her concern rising. Scyria was ringed by debris-apparently from trashed sattelites-and that made it difficult to see the planet itself until she maneuvered her way through, going around the larger pieces of debris while the ring's force field deflected the smaller ones. She gasped when she got through and finally saw it, though.

Scyria's nearest continent was divided almost in half by a dark scar, slicing through the green and brown vegetation. Smoke rose from it, and Janet could pick out several cities in the line of the disaster zone-or, rather, what was left of them.

She was about to head for one of the cities when a massive explosion, clearly visible even from as high up as she was, erupted near the end of the scar.

"_Warning. Yellow energy detected. Sinestro proximity alert_."

_Ah, hell_, came Kyle's thought. Janet bit her lip. She was in serious trouble.

A crowd of Scyrians-short orange beings with insectoid eyes and long flowing robes-scattered in panic as a once-graceful building collapsed over the square, seconds after a flaming figure had crashed into it. The armor-clad figure climbed out of the rubble, flames still eating at its tattered cloak, and grinned manically as it raised its massive mace.

A giant green hand attempted to pluck the mace away, but only succeeded in lessening its impace on the ground. It still sent shockwaves rippling throughout the city and caused other buildings to begin to collapse. "Dammit!" Janet grunted. Whoever the hell this guy was, he was powerful. And he wasn't wearing a yellow power ring, which meant there was still a Sinestro around.

_Damage control!_ Kyle snapped, a second before Janet felt his consciousness leave the ring as his contrust body formed and he flew over to snatch a pair of civilians out from under a collapsing wall. Janet willed a construct of Atlas to form under another toppling building, holding it up as Scyrian emergency crews raced to get people out of the danger zone.

"YOU CANNOT STOP D'KAR!" the creature roared, raising his mace above his head. "D'KAR WILL CONQUER ALL!"

"D'Kar needs to shut the hell up!" Another figure, this one glowing with yellow energy, swooped down and dropped a pile of rubble on the self-proclaimed conqueror's head.

"_Warning. Sinestro proximity alert_."

Janet felt a chill looking at the Sinestro. He appeared human, but a quick scan with her ring confirmed that he was a Daxamite. Good thing they were in a red star system, preventing him from using his other powers, otherwise she would be totally screwed. She had a freakin' Daxamite Sinestro and an insane powerhouse to stop from tearing the planet apart. Actually, maybe she was already screwed.


	4. Chapter 4

Janet was barely fast enough to throw a shield around the ensuing explosion as the Sinestro's attack met D'Kar's own assault. The last few Scyrians in the immediate vicinity were quickly vacating the area, but it was only a matter of time before the fight moved on to a new location.

"Time to put a stop to this," Kyle said, coming up alongside her. "Just try not to get yourself killed, all right?" He indicated the mace-wielding giant. "D'Kar seems to be the main threat here, so focus on him. Looks like your first encounter with a member of the Sinestro Corps is one of alliance."

"Joy," Janet grumbled, then brought a construct hammer down on D'Kar's head. He shrugged it off and turned his unnerving grin upon her.

"ANOTHER RING-WIELDER COMES TO FIGHT D'KAR! D'KAR WILL DEFEAT BOTH RING-WIELDERS! D'KAR IS SUPREME!"

Janet and Kyle shot away from each other as a bolt of energy from D'Kar's mace blasted through where they had been just a moment before. She formed a bow and arrow in her hands and launched the latter at D'Kar, willing it to be sharp enough to penetrate his armor. The head barely made an impact, but did sink partway into his breastplate. Another surge of will, and the arrow exploded in a brilliant emerald light. D'Kar barely flinched.

"You're afraid, Greenie," the Sinestro's taunting voice came to her as he flew over her head. He formed a series of yellow spikes that barely punctured D'Kar's armor, and then dropped an anvil on his head.

"Shut up," Janet retorted, launching an army of winged tigers on the behemoth. He swept them away with his mace, that grin never leaving his face. Dammit! That Sinestro was right; she was afraid, but there was no way she was going to let that stop her! She would-oh, crap. She narrowly avoided having her head taken off by the mace, and swung a sword at D'Kar as she quickly backed up. She was sure she heard an amused snort from the Sinestro.

"Stay focused!" Kyle ordered. He had come up behind D'Kar, and now wrapped his arms around his neck, covering his eyes.

"D'KAR WILL DESTROY GREEN MAN!" came the enraged roar as D'Kar swung his mace around blindly. Janet managed to dodge it, silently thanking Kyle for all those agility-focused obstacle courses, but it caught the edge of the Sinestro's shield and threw him through a wall.

"Now who's having issues?" Janet couldn't help her taunt at the Sinestro as she threw a battering ram at D'Kar.

The Sinestro, climbing out of the rubble, growled, "Shut up."

"I said stay focused!" Kyle was forced to let go of D'Kar and get away from the beating gauntlets.

"I don't have to listen to you," the Sinestro began, but Kyle cut him off.

"How long have you had that ring?"

"Seven months, and-"

"I've got you beat by years. Now both of you quit arguing and get over here _now_!"

Kyle's tone brooked no argument, and Janet paused only to stick a cap on D'Kar's head to block his vision before flying over to him. The Sinestro, she was partly surprised to see, did the same.

"First thing I want to know is who the hell that is," Kyle began, indicating D'Kar. "Abilities, purpose, the works. Now."

"His name's D'Kar," the Sinestro began. "He's a conqueror from Benix who subjugated five planets and wiped out a Sinestro patrol before I followed him through a rift to this universe. I've been chasing him almost six months. His power's mostly in his mace, which is next to indestructable, and his armor's pretty damn hard to get through." A deafening roar from D'Kar sent shockwaves through the air. "Oh, and he's got a good set of lungs."

"Then we need to separate him from his mace." Janet was impressed by how quickly Kyle had taken command of the situation and was coming up with a plan. He continued, "He's clearly got a good grip on it, so we need to break that. Janet, work on pressure points on his arm. Break it if you have to. You-"

"Sern, Morrin Sern," the Sinestro said.

"Sinestro Sern, beat him down with everything you've got. Let's move!"

D'Kar, who up to that point had been stumbling around and causing more damage, chose that moment to tear the cap off his head and roar, "D'KAR WILL NOT BE CONQUERED!" He raised his mace and let loose another burst of energy at the three Lanterns, who quickly scattered away from it and moved into action.

Morrin attacked D'Kar in a flurry of construct weapons while Janet formed a series of robot constructs to catch D'Kar's arm and put pressure on it from various points, drawing on all her knowledge of martial arts and the human body-she could only hope that D'Kar's species was similar enough, though his humanoid shape did seem to indicate that he was. The conqueror roared and tried to break loose, but his attention was consistently pulled away by Morrin's assault. Janet wasn't sure how long they grappled, but she suddenly saw D'Kar's grip on his mace shift and weaken. It was only for a split second, but Kyle swooped in and snatched it out of his hand, carrying it up and out of reach. D'Kar's furious roar was nearly deafening.

"Target joints and weak points in the armor," Kyle shouted, barely audible over D'Kar's racket. "Take him down!"

It was a moment Janet never forgot, fighting side-by-side with a member of the Sinestro Corps as she and Morrin attacked D'Kar with everything they had. Green and yellow constructs both assaulted the behemoth's armor nonstop, forming cracks, increasing gaps, and delivering the best smackdown the two could summon. D'Kar originally tried to get his mace back, but Kyle dodged every one of his leaps and kept it out of reach, and finally he reached a point where he did no more than flail wildly at the Lanterns' attacks.

"D'KAR WILL NOT BE CONQUERED!" he roared, though his voice was faltering and less certain. "D'KAR WILL-"

"Shut up," both Lanterns said at almost the same time, Janet dropping a grand piano on his head and Morrin following that up with a catapult that threw him into a pile of rubble. Missing half his armor, D'Kar tried to get up, but a green Klingon warbird and a yellow lizard of some sort knocked him down again, and this time he did not get up. Janet released a sigh of relief.

"This ass-kicking has been brought to you by your local Sinestro Corpsman," Morrin quipped, wrapping D'Kar in construct chains. The would-be conqueror groaned slightly.

"Hey, we helped too," Janet reminded him acidly. "You weren't doing so well before we showed up."

"I was doing fine," he retorted in a tone that indicated that he wanted the conversation to be over.

Janet was having none of it. Fear was forgotton in anger. "_Fine_? You cut a swath of destruction across half a planet!"

"You think that's bad, you should see what D'kar has been causing!" Morrin snapped. "I saved them from worse damage!"

"I doubt that," Janet scoffed. "Couldn't you have found a less destructive way to do it?"

"You think everything's so black-and-white, don't you? You're so naive!"

"_You_ spread _fear_!"

"Enough!" Kyle inserted himself between the two of them, literally pushing them apart. Janet hadn't realized that they had been getting in each other's faces. "Call a truce already!" The two backed away, but continued to glare at each other.

"I'm done here," Morrin growled, and turned away. Kyle's hand caught his shoulder and dragged him back. "Hey-!"

"You are not going _anywhere_," he snapped. "None of us are leaving until we have mopped up this mess." He indicated the trashed city below them.

"But that'll take forever!" Janet protested. Kyle shot her a look that shut her up immediately.

Morrin started, "If you think I'm going to stick around and pick up after a bunch of-"

"You _will _be sticking around, and you _will _be picking up after _your_ fight," Kyle told him firmly. "Have you got that?"

Morrin glared at him for a minute, then sullenly turned away. "Fine," he growled.

Kyle nodded, satisfied. "Good. I'm taking D'Kar to Gaolus; you two get to work here. No trouble, got it?"

Janet glared at Morrin and was met with a similar look. "Got it."

Kyle grabbed the now-unconscious D'Kar and flew up. "I'll be back. Try not to kill each other."


	5. Chapter 5

They resolved their tendency to get into arguments by heading to opposide ends of the disaster zone and setting to work there, rescuing trapped survivors, taking the many injured to hospitals, and clearing rubble to ease the way of emergency crews. Janet got along pretty well with the Scyrians once she told them what was going on, and quickly settled into a rhythm of work, scanning for and dealing with the most severe situations first and tackling the less dangerous afterword. There was a certain level of damage that she left alone, letting the Scyrians handle themselves, though it always depended on how much damage the area had already suffered and how well organized the emergency crews were. She was aware that there was a lot to deal with, and that she needed to keep moving so that there wouldn't be any unnecessary deaths.

She wasn't sure how much time had passed when Kyle got back, surprising her by simply showing up and picking up a beam that she had just identified as having three injured survivors underneath. "D'Kar is taken care of," he told her. "Morrin is at about the same point you are in the cleanup; another hour or so should do it for us."

"Hours?" Janet tried not to groan. She was feeling the results of her fight, piled on top of all the intensity of the last two weeks. All she really wanted to do was sleep.

"You're doing fine," he encouraged her. "Just stay focused."

Janet sighed.

* * *

Nearly two hours later, the worst of the disaster had been taken care of. What was left was still an issue, but nothing beyond the abilities of the Scyrians to recover from. They were certainly in better shape than New Orleans after Katrina, Janet reflected as she followed Kyle up and out of the atmosphere. Morrin tagged along.

"So, you're a rookie," he commented to Janet. She glared at him, wishing her uniform had a badge and not an empty white circle.

"It's not as if you're a senior Lantern. Oh, sorry, _Sinestro_."

He rolled his eyes. "I've had my ring for-"

"Yeah, I know, seven months," Janet interrupted. "Six of which you spent chasing D'Kar in this universe, right? How much training did you get?"

"More than you."

"By a _senior _Lantern?"

"Guys," came Kyle's warning voice.

"You're not my commander and I don't have to listen to you," Morrin snapped.

"I'm a hell of a lot more experienced than you are," Kyle reminded him. "And you've been listening to me for the past few hours." Janet bit her lip to keep from laughing.

Morrin glared at her. "Yeah, go ahead and laugh, rookie. _Two _weeks-"

"Two weeks of _very_ intense training. By him."

"See me here? Not impressed."

"I bet I could totally take you in a fight."

"Bring it on, Greenie."

Ahead of them, Kyle sighed loudly.

Janet was composing a retort when her ring announced, "_Blue Lantern proximity detected_." At the same time, Morrin's ring warned, "_Blue Lantern proximity alert._"

"Ah, hell," Morrin growled. Kyle stopped and looked around.

Janet had only just located the blue light growing quickly nearer when it stopped a short distance away. "_Power levels two hundred percent_," her ring told her.

The Blue Lantern had pale yellow skin and dark blue, almost violet hair and eyes. The blue symbol of hope flashed around her as she took the three of them in. There was a sense of urgency in her eyes. "I am Blue Lantern Saleen of sector 1741. It is good to find fellow defenders of life here."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Morrin demanded.

"You've been out of the loop for six months, right?" Kyle asked. "You've missed a lot."

Saleen nodded solemnly. "I have followed a group of Black Lanterns through a rift into this universe, and I have been seeking someone who can help me stop them from spreading their darkness here."

"You followed a group of who what now?"

"Black Lanterns," Janet told Morrin, more than a little pleased to have more knowledge than he did, but at the same time feeling a chill at the concept of what the Black Lantern entailed. "They spread death, and want nothing more than to wipe out all life."

"And you know this how?" he asked.

"We're in the Prime Universe here," Kyle explained. "They've got stories about the other universes, including ours. Janet's a native, so she's been able to keep up with that."

"I see. And how, then, are these Black Lanterns defeated?"

"I don't know," Janet said, reluctant to admit any lack of knowledge to Morrin. "The story hasn't gotten that far yet. I do know that combining a Green Lantern's light with light from another part of the spectrum will cause a Black ring to shatter, but it has to be focused and there's an awful lot to get destroyed one at a time."

"And I counted at least nine Black Lanterns who came through the rift," Saleen said. She was looking at Kyle curiously. "Including, it seems, one that took your body."

Kyle frowned, folding his arms. "I was afraid that would happen. I hope Sora and Guy are all right."

"I do not know what has happened on Oa," Saleen said. "I only know that these Black Lanterns are approaching quickly, and they appear to be heading towards Earth."

Janet felt a surge of fear. Black Lanterns. Attacking Earth. They were in so much trouble.


	6. Chapter 6

"Earth's in a yellow star system, right?" Morrin asked. At Janet's nod, he smiled. "Perfect."

"We're not letting them get that far," Kyle said. "As soon as we overtake them, we take them down."

"Says the dead guy," Morrin responded.

"The Black Lanterns are powerful," Saleen-who, it had turned out, had only had her ring for three months-began. "We will need a strategy-"

Morrin interrupted her. "Against killers like you describe? I got a strategy for you, honey: _shoot everything in sight_."

"It won't be that simple, trust me," Kyle warned. "We need to watch each other's backs. If any of us are killed then we've got one less ally and one more enemy to deal with."

"Says the dead guy," Morrin repeated.

The words washed over Janet and fell away as they flew through space, following Saleen as she sped towards the last place she had seen the Black Lanterns. She was not ready for this. Only two weeks of training, and now she was up against the Blackest Night? And this after an exhausting fight against a powerful maniac and the ensuing cleanup! She was _so_ not ready.

Barely aware of the fact that Kyle was now flying alongside Saleen, getting every bit of information possible from her, Janet began going over all their training sessions in her head. However, her anxiety caused them to jumble together and she couldn't remember much of anything. It was impossible to focus on anything except the immenent battle against the _freakin' Blackest Night_.

With Kyle in his construct body rather than in the ring, Janet couldn't feel any more than the most surface emotions from him, but he seemed fine. Determined, yes. Maybe a little bit angry. But fear? She couldn't sense any fear from him. Of course, it might just be so buried that she couldn't sense it through their tenuous connection, but she was certain that her own fear was coming through strong. This was too soon. She wasn't ready.

"You're afraid, Greenie."

Janet glanced at Morrin, fully prepared to glare, but saw that his expression wasn't one so much of taunting as it was...support? From a Sinestro? No way.

"Look, fear is normal," he told her. "What you've got to do is accept that fear and use it to drive your emotions. Let it empower you rather than control you."

Janet smiled wryly. "You're giving me advice now?"

"Hey, everyone feels fear. Only an idiot doesn't." He increased his speed slightly, pulling ahead and leaving her to mull over his statement.

An hour ago, she'd have dismissed his words out of hand. Now, however, with danger so close, she stopped to think about them. They did make sense, after all. Maybe he was worth listening to. Funny, that; a Sinestro giving a Green Lantern advice. What was next, Larfleeze actually _giving_ something to someone?

She was suddenly aware that Kyle had dropped back beside her. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah," she responded automatically. He raised an eyebrow at her, and she grimaced. "Okay, not really. It's just...it's the _Blackest Night_."

"And you're scared."

"Yeah." She hesitated, then shrugged. "Morrin said that's normal, and I should channel the fear into my actions."

"He does have a point," Kyle told her. "It is normal to be afraid in a situation like this. Actually, I'd be worried if you _weren't_ afraid, because that would indicate that you didn't have a good understanding of the situation. Fear keeps you alert, on your toes. The key is acting despite that fear. That's what willpower is all about."

Janet nodded. Not that she felt any less afraid, but it did help to know that-everything else aside-she wasn't alone. Kyle had her back, and Saleen too, presumably, and even Morrin seemed supportive. Of course, it was still four Lanterns, three of which were rookies and one of which was _technically_ dead, against at least nine Black Lanterns.

Kyle seemed to sense her concern, and placed an arm around her shoulders, giving her a mid-flight hug. It was a bit strange, getting a hug from an energy construct, but she could sense his support. "We've all got each other's backs," he told her. "Just keep your head and stay focused. Remember, a Green Lantern isn't without fear. We _overcome_ fear. Okay?"

"Yeah." She smiled weakly.

"There they are!" Saleen's shout immediately snapped their attention to a group of Black Lanterns-numbering at least fifteen, Janet saw, though they'd probably added to their number along the way-just ahead of them. They were less than a light-year away from Sol, and Earth.

The Black Lanterns seemed to have become aware of them at the same time that Saleen spotted them, because they had turned around immediately and were making for them with a terrifying eagerness. Janet took a deep breath and willed armor into existence around her body, a sword forming in her hand. Morrin was constructing guns-a _lot_ of guns-and Saleen was surrounding herself with various birds of prey. Kyle had shifted his body into more of a mecha robot form.

"Morrin, we're on basic combat," he said. "We'll keep them busy. Janet, Saleen, you two will be destroying the rings. Fight if you need to, and if you see a good chance with Morrin's light, Janet, use that chance. We need to take every advantage we can get."

"What, we don't get a chance to power up?" Morrin asked.

"No time for that now," Saleen responded. "Here they come!"

The Black Lanterns rushed upon them.


	7. Chapter 7

Most of the Black Lanterns appeared to be normal, living beings of various sorts, save for their ashen coloring and their dead eyes. Others were more skeletal, and some were even missing flesh, revealing their innards. One particularly creepy-looking lizard-like one with a frog face was missing half its chest, revealing a still heart and unmoving lungs. A bony female corpse with a skull-like face rushed Janet, who fended it off with her sword. Kyle was taking on a red-hued behemoth in hand-to-hand combat, and Morrin was firing nonstop at the frog-faced one. Saleen's birds swept around her, fending off a half-decomposed serpent as she aimed her ring at the ring on the end of its tail. Dropping below her own attacker, Janet fired a beam of light at the same target. Green and blue light mingled, and both Lanterns dodged and wove around the other combatants as they kept their light focused.

"_Connection severed_."

The ring shattered, and the Black Lantern followed suit, tearing apart. "That's one!" Saleen shouted. "See? All will be well."

"Great," Morrin grunted, letting a pack of vicious dog-like creatures loose on another Black Lantern. "Make it two, willya?"

Janet took the lead this time, shining her light on another ring, and Saleen did the same. Another Black Lantern rushed at Saleen, and Kyle smacked it down before it could touch her. "_Connection severed_." Another Black Lantern attacked.

Because of their constant struggles to fend off attacks, despite the support from Kyle and Morrin, it was slow going. As soon as one Black Lantern fell, another seemed to come out of nowhere to attack. Janet sincerely hoped that it was all their perception and that their numbers weren't actually increasing. She and Saleen destroyed three Black Lanterns, and she helped Morrin with a fourth, but she had only just picked their next target when the red behemoth plowed through the midst of the battle, scattering them.

Janet, stunned by a heavy blow to her chest, struggled to get her head together. She was just in time to spot a thin Black Lantern with spider-like agility shooting at her; she was barely fast enough to create a shield and was still thrown back a short distance. Grinning, it attacked again.

"You can't stop us," it hissed, and Janet's eyes widened in shock before she remembered that yes, Black Lanters could talk, and often did. "You'll fall, and your precious Earth will fall, and all light will die."

She threw it aside with a baseball bat, and swung it at it again. It collided with the Lantern's arm, and both bat and arm cracked. "We will _not_ fall," she snapped through gritted teeth.

"You will fall," it repeated, and came clawing at her. A green eagle repelled its attack. "We will destroy all life."

"Like hell," she growled.

Its grin widened. "We bring hell with us."

Janet felt some confusion. It almost looked like it was pleased by her reaction... Oh, crap! They fed off emotion, and it was making her angry! Fear began to replace anger. It rushed her eagerly, and out of desperation she unleashed a blast of pure energy at it, forcing all her will into that one attack.

The Black Lantern disappeared in a wave of green energy which disappating to reveal a lone black ring with some scraps of flesh clinging to it. Even as she watched, the body began to reconstruct itself. Before it had more than half an arm, she hurriedly constructed a cannonball around it and shot it out of a cannon, as far away as she could. It would only delay it, but it was better than being overwhelmed.

Almost on cue, something grabbed hold of her hair. Janet yelped in pain as she was jerked back, but then a yellow burst of energy blasted the skull-faced Lantern away. She turned to see Morrin almost overwhelmed by another Black Lantern, and she raised her ring to return the favor.

A black robotic construct struck her, knocking her away and sending her blast harmlessly over the Lantern's head. Then a burst of black energy came at her and she barely raised a shield in time. It shattered under the assault and the Black Lantern grabbed her arm.

"Oh my God," she gasped. The face smiling condenscendingly only a few inches from her own was Kyle's, but pale and grey, and there was no warmth in those dark eyes. Feeling uncommonly like a deer in the headlights and struggling to keep her fear from freezing her in place, she released a blast of energy at the Black Lantern with Kyle's body. It casually blocked her attack with a shield, and launched a few ninjas at her.

"The lone Green Lantern of the Prime Universe," it said contemptuously. The voice was Kyle's...almost. The usual warmth was missing, and it was more like a dry, dead mockery than the actual thing. Janet tried to ignore it as she countered the ninjas with an army of samurai warriors, but the words continued, biting.

"You think you have the skills to be a Green Lantern? I worked for _years _to get to where I am. D'you _really _think you can beat me?"

Janet fought off Godzilla with a dragon, and struggled to keep some indian warriors back with mounted cowboys. One arrow grazed her arm.

"You think you're special? You're not. You're _nothing_."

"Stop pretending to be him," Janet said. She tried to sound firm, but the tremor in her voice betrayed her fear.

A stylized sword swung towards her head. Janet raised a shield to block, but the green energy cracked under the black. The Black Lantern pressed harder, and she struggled to maintain her tenuous barrier.

"Your fight is hopeless."

Janet could feel herself weakening. Fear was growing stronger, and by the Black Lantern's eagerness, so was her emotional draw. She wouldn't fail. She would _not_ give in! Her shield cracked further.

Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a spot of green light vanish, and then Kyle's consciousness was in the ring, and his will was bolstering her own. The cracks vanished from the shield, and she was able to push the Black Lantern's sword back a little.

_Don't listen to it_, Kyle told her. _Hold on to your will_.

Forcing down her fear, Janet used her shield to shove the sword aside and threw an armored punch at the Lantern. It grabbed her arm, and she tried to twist free. It kept a tight grip, however, and it was only when she constructed spikes to come off her arm and rip through its hand that she was able to break free. It started to form another construct, and she slashed at its hand with a knife, then threw a punch. It dodged, but her hand brushed its own, already mostly healed.

For a moment, the rings scraped against each other and Janet felt something stir in her mind, as if she could hear the Black Lantern-_Will. Fear._-and then it was gone.

And so was Kyle.

It wasn't as if he was in his construct body, because even then she could feel his presence. Now she couldn't so much as sense him. He was simply gone. She had gotten so used to having him around, in the back of her mind, that she froze, stunned, as she tried to process what had happened. It was different, strange..._normal_.

Then she realized with a shock that she had just left herself open for an attack-but none had come. And the Black Lantern...something about it was different. First of all, it wasn't attacking her. Second, it seemed to be undergoing some sort of internal struggle, half-turned away. And third...she wasn't sure at first, but it looked as though its skin had more color. And then it lifted its head.

The eyes were green.

"Kyle?" she whispered.

"Yeah." That was his voice, with the same intonation, the same _warmth_ she had grown accustomed to. Strained, but not the dead mockery she had heard before. "It's me. I took advantage of that momentary contact to slip in and take control...but the ring's fighting me."

For a moment, Janet just stared, completely dumbfounded. Then...

"Die."

Her head snapped around just in time to see another Black Lantern with a construct spear aimed at her heart. Before she had a chance to react, or even think, a hand grabbed her arm and jerked her out of the way. Kyle flung himself between her and the Lantern, releasing some sort of black energy blast from the ring. The other Lantern's spear slashed his arm as it was thrown back, but the injured tissue reconstructed itself immediately.

Kyle's jaw was set as his eyes darkened momentarily, then returned to their natural green. "Okay, this sucks."

They had to get that ring off him, Janet was sure. She didn't know how much longer he could maintain control. But could they destroy it without harming him in the process?

Her hand jerked as she felt a sudden flare of heat from her ring, and then watched, fascinated, as it duplicated itself perfectly. The second ring hovered in place for only a moment before shooting over to Kyle and slipping onto his finger.

"_Kyle Rayner of Earth. You have the ability to overcome great fear. Welcome to the Green Lantern Corps_."

"_Connection severed_."

The black ring shattered. A wave seemed to run over Kyle's body as his complexion gained a healthy appearance. The black uniform vanished, replaced by his Green Lantern uniform and mask. He paused a moment, breathing deeply, then smiled and met Janet's open-mouthed gaze. "You gonna keep staring, or help take down these Black Lanterns?"


	8. Chapter 8

"You have _got_ to kidding me!" Morrin barely ducked under an attack as he stared at Kyle, who had just blasted a Black Lantern away.

"Two green rings," Saleen gasped. "We have a better chance now! All will be well!"

"Great, can we fight now please?" Kyle deflected an attack and launched his own in response.

Janet mingled her ring's light with Saleen's to destroy a Black Lantern, just before another fell to Kyle and Morrin. For a little while, it seemed as though they had the advantage. Kyle's return to his body-his return to _life_, really-seemed to have unbalanced the Black Lanterns, and provided the small band with an advantage. For a moment.

The Black Lanterns appeared to have become more desperate, and more determined to destroy the four defending Lanterns. They soon became hard-pressed merely to protect themselves, much less destroy their attackers. The battle soon became a blur of black limbs and green, blue, and yellow energy blasts, all intermingled and confused.

Then, as Janet tried to fend off a particularly vicious Lantern, a red streak of light erupted in front of her and tore it apart. She looked up, feeling her jaw drop as three more Lanterns arrived, shining with red, indigo, and violet light.

The Indigo Tribesman aimed his staff at a Black Lantern, the Green Lantern symbol appearing in front of his forehead as indigo and green light mingled in a single burst that shattered a black ring and its bearer. The Red Lantern, a lizard creature that looked much like a snake with legs, flung itself upon the red-hued behemoth, vomiting burning, acidic blood upon it. The aquatic-appearing Star Sapphire wrapped another in a violet crystalline construct, catching and holding it in place long enough for Kyle and Saleen's lights to find and destroy it.

With the sudden reinforcements, the defenders attacked with renewed strength, and the Black Lanterns attempted to scatter, though their flight was prevented by the Red Lantern. Within moments, the last few were destroyed.

Both groups faced each other over the floating remains of the Black Lanterns, unable to regenerate since the rings were gone. Kyle spoke first.

"Good to see you. The backup was appreciated."

"We detected a Black Lantern incursion in this universe and came to investigate," the Indigo Tribesman said. "I am Nahdir, of the Indigo Tribe. Red Lantern Nirc and Star Sapphire Mysha came with me."

"Green Lanterns Kyle Rayner and Janet McCullen, Blue Lantern Saleen, and Sinestro Morrin Sern." Kyle introduced each of them. "What's the situation back home?"

"The Black Lanterns are converging upon Earth," Mysha said, gills moving as she spoke. "All Corps are uniting to face the darkness together and hold the line of life."

"Always Earth," Janet muttered.

"I guess that's where we're headed next, then," Morrin said. "I hope you guys know the way back."

"Nahdir guided us through the rift," Mysha said. "He can guide us back."

"That's good, since I was so occupied with following the Black Lanterns that I did not pay attention to my path," Saleen said.

"Same with me," Morrin grumbled.

"Can we stop chattering already?" Nirc glared at them, his words barely distinguishable through his spitting blood. He twitched with repressed fury.

"Lead the way, Nahdir," Kyle said. The indigo man nodded and turned, and the other six fell in behind him as he set off.


	9. Chapter 9

The rift energies buffeted and tossed them about, but Nahdir shone his light on their twisting path, guiding them through dimension rather than space. Janet barely remembered their journey, focusing on staying in tight formation behind him, but then they came through. Once there, Nahdir urged them to come a close as possible. "I have enough power to teleport us once," he said. "And it is a far distance."

Janet was suddenly struck by the idea that she was getting advance knowledge of the Blackest Night. She would know how it worked out before anyone else back home! Hopefully. Hopefully they would win in this universe.

Morrin's thoughts seemed to be on the same subject. "Hey, Earth-Prime has stories about all this, right? Do we win?"

Janet shrugged. "Sorry, I don't know. The next issue hasn't come out yet. This is as much a mystery to me as to you."

Morrin grunted dissatisfactorily, but Saleen, beside him, appeared determined. "Then we will do our best and hope. We must have faith that-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know, _all will be well_," Morrin interrupted. "You say it often enough."

"Be ready," Nahdir warned. Janet took a deep breath, bracing herself, and felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked over at Kyle, who gave her a reassuring smile. Mustering her courage, she smiled back.

An indigo light enveloped them, and Janet thought she felt a shift. Then it faded away, and her chest tightened as she saw the chaos around them. Lanterns of every color, representatives of every one of the seven Corps were locked in battle with an incredible number of Black Lanterns, and outnumbered to the extreme. Almost at once, the band of seven found themselves caught up in the same battle. Hardly aware of the others fighting around her, Janet began blasting Black Lanterns left and right, blocking attacks and looking for lights of other colors focused on black rings that she could mingle her own light with to destroy.

A screeching monkey-like Black Lantern leaped at her from behind, but before she could defend herself a green burst of light ripped through it and blasted it away. A big, hulking Green Lantern loomed over her. "You alright, rookie?"

Janet barely found her voice, caught between the intensity of battle and the awe of meeting the Green Lantern drill sergeant. "Y-yes, Lantern Kilowog. Sir."

Even as he blasted away other Black Lanterns-and it took Janet a moment to remember to do the same-he looked vaguely amused. "And where'd you come from?"

"She's with me," came Kyle's voice, and Kilowog's expression went to one of surprise, followed by pure pleasure.

"_Kyle!_" Another Green Lantern shot past Janet and practically threw herself on Kyle. Janet grinned as she recognized Soranik Natu, and aimed a blast at a Black Lantern that was headed their way. Then Guy Gardner arrived with a shout of "Kyle! You're alive!" and despite the danger and battle there were smiles all around.

Explanations took place during combat, with bits and pieces thrown in by everyone involved. Both sides of the story were heard, and well over a dozen Black Lanterns were destroyed with Janet's help alone, not even counting the others. Then a pack of Black Lanterns descended upon where Janet was, and she found herself facing at least eight on her own.

Only for a moment, however, as Morrin and Saleen blasted their way through to her, and the three placed themselves back-to-back. "Getting _really_ sick of seeing these things," Morrin growled as Janet mingled her light with his to destroy one before switching to help Saleen with another.

"We must keep fighting," Saleen began.

"I swear, if you say _all will be well_ one more time..."

"Nice to see you two working so well together," Janet quipped. Morrin barked a short laugh.

A huge Black Lantern loomed over them, but stopped as Nirc attacked its face. Nahdir swept two more away with his combined indigo and green light, and Mysha pushed others back to give them room.

"We just have to hold them long enough for Nekron to be defeated," Nahdir informed them.

"Who the hell's Nekron?" Morrin demanded, slicing the arms off another Lantern.

Janet helped Mysha destroy a skeleton clawing at Saleen. "The lord of death, basically. The guy behind all this mess."

"Damn."

"HEADS UP!"

Janet ducked as Nirc shot over their heads, vomiting all over another Black Lantern. A green light came through from someone else and helped him destroy it.

"Nahdir!" Janet's head spun about at Saleen's cry, and saw her blue light lance through a Black Lantern about to attack the Tribesman. She quickly joined her light to Saleen's, and the Lantern tore apart.

Suddenly, an intense pain shot through Janet, and she doubled over with a pained cry. It was gone a moment later, but looking around she saw that she was not the only one to have felt the pain. Saleen was cringing, Morrin was breathing hard, and even Nirc looked more enraged than before. "What the _hell_ was that?"

"Darkness is growing," Saleen gasped, desperately fending off an attacker. "We must hold on. We must!"

"Stay together," Nahdir ordered, taking down a few more Black Lanterns. Then pain lanced through them all again.

"_Damn_ it!" Morrin blasted a Black Lantern away while Janet and Mysha destroyed another. "This is ridiculous!"

"_All Lanterns!_" Guy's voice came through Janet's ring, and the others' rings as well. "_Converge on Coast City; let's get Nekron!_"

"Come on!" Mysha dove towards the Californian coast. Janet exchanged a look full of apprehension and hope with Saleen, and then they, Morrin, Nahdir, and Nirc followed, along with all the rest of the Lanterns around them.

They tore their way through the mass of Black Lanterns around the city and rushed upon the Black Central Power Battery, where the most intense fighting was taking place. Janet quickly took in the various figures in combat, and then her attention was pulled to Hal Jordan as he shouted, "Forget the Black Lanterns and hit the source. Everybody, swing your beams onto Nekron!"

"I can't believe we're following his orders," Morrin grumbled as they obeyed, and Janet elbowed him with her free arm.

Six colors of light-if orange was present, Janet couldn't see-mingled as pure, blinding white light striking Nekron. Janet could barely see the thin, skeletal figure in the brilliant blaze. It looked as though the light were solid, fighting him-it?-hand to hand. Maybe it was. Then through all the noise, she heard Guy shout, "Hey, Skeletor! _Beware our power!_"

A chill crept up her spine at Nekron's response; "No, Lanterns. Beware _mine_."

Nekron tore into the figure, and she realized with a chill that it was an entity, and it had just been separated from Sinestro, its host. Not that she was thrilled that Sinestro had been in control, but the situation was not good.

"Stay focused," Saleen's voice spoke in her ear. "Hold the line. All will be well." Morrin shot her a frustrated look.

"I wish you'd stop saying that," he started, but Janet interrupted as something caught her eye.

"Is that Hal Jordan?"

Morrin rolled his eyes. "The guy is freakin' everywhere, of course he's-"

Janet shook her head and pointed. "No, really, is he- He's in the white entity!"

They stared at the events unfolding below them. The three didn't even realize that they and everyone else had stopped shining their light on Nekron. Saleen gasped, "A White Lantern Corps!"

A dark figure below them erupted in white light, and something small and white shot from it and lanced through Nekron's chest before shooting into the Black battery.

"_Anti-Monitor of Qward-_"

"Move back," Morrin warned, pulling both Janet and Saleen away.

"_Live_."

The three flung up shields as the confrontation between Nekron and risen Anti-Monitor raged, and then the Anti-Monitor was apparently destroyed. Then more spots of light, which Janet now saw were white rings, tore through Nekron.

"_Let there be light_."

Feeling a chill that now came from awe rather than fear, it was now Janet who pulled Morrin and Saleen back as a white ring shot past them and onto the finger of a female Black Lantern with the words "_Jennie-Lynn Hayden of Earth._" Eleven other rings chose eleven other Lanterns, each naming their chosen one.

"_LIVE_."


	10. Chapter 10

"It's really too bad that you can't stay longer," Soranik told Janet. They were a short distance away from the rift, waiting for Nahdir to meet them. Kyle and Soranik were holding hands as usual, and they'd hardly let go of each other since their reunion. Arisia was there as well; she had become a good friend to Janet over the past few days.

"I wish I could," Janet responded. "Spend some more time with you guys, get a bit more training..." She resisted touching the badge that had now replaced the white circle-Kilowog had tested her, pronounced her "passable" and given her the badge; she had later overheard him congratulating Kyle on his training. "And help out with whatever goes wrong, since it's pretty much guaranteed to happen."

"Hey, it's the Brightest Day," Arisia said, grinning. "What can happen?"

"You know you shouldn't say that," Kyle told her. "You're just inviting trouble."

Soranik smiled. "We'll be able to handle it."

Janet smiled at them, but at the same time she felt a lump forming in her throat. For the most part, they hadn't known each other very long, but they really felt like her friends. She'd come to rely on them in so many ways. The thought of leaving was...difficult.

Arisia apparently noticed Janet's emotions and gave her a tight hug. "Don't worry; you'll be fine. You've been trained by some of the best, you know. And really. You survived the Blackest Night! Everything else should be easy."

Janet hugged back just as tightly, and then the two released each other. "Thanks, Arisia."

"No problem. Drop by whenever you're in the neighborhood. Or universe." With a wide grin, she flew off, waving. "Take care!"

Janet waved back, and then found herself hugging Soranik. "Be careful," the surgeon warned her. "Watch your back, and remember your training."

"I will," Janet promised. "Honestly, though...it's kind of daunting. Being the only Green Lantern."

"Trust me, you can handle it. As long as you have some friends to rely on, you can. Take it from someone who knows." Kyle hugged her as well. "And remember that if you run into any trouble, we're just on this side of the rift."

"Thanks for everything." Janet found it hard to let him go.

Soranik's head suddenly snapped to the side. "We have incoming."

A streak of yellow light suddenly stopped beside them, and there was Morrin, grinning impudently. "What?" he asked. "You don't really think you can handle that whole universe alone, do you?" Janet opened her mouth to speak, and he held up a hand. "Don't even start on the fear thing. That's all some people will understand. Seriously, have you even _looked_ at your sector 284?"

There was a flash on indigo light, and then Nahdir, Mysha, and Saleen were with them as well. Mysha looked at Morrin and giggled. "I guess we weren't the only ones to have this idea."

Kyle placed an encouraging hand on Janet's shoulder. "Looks like you won't be alone anyway."

They all flew to the rift together, and Janet nearly laughed. Nirc was hovering right at the edge of distortion, glaring. "What took you grubbers so long?" he grumbled.

"We just need an orange lantern and the spectrum is complete!" Misha said excitedly.

Morrin gave her a sharp look. "Don't even suggest such a thing."

"Stop talking already, and let's go," Nirc demanded.

Janet hugged Kyle and Soranik once more, and then flew into the rift, the lanterns from the other corps around her. As before, Nahdir took the lead, shining his indigo light on their twisting path. The others stayed close, following his lead exactly, and then they were through.

Morrin set off for sector 284 immediately, clearly irritated to have Nirc going with him. The other four turned in the direction of Earth. Not long after, though, Mysha took off in pursuit of endagered love, and Nahdir elected to accompany her. Saleen remained with Janet until they reached Scyria, at which point the Blue Lantern made her farewells-though she was clear that it was only temporary. "I'll always be around," she told Janet. "Just let me know if you need anything."

And then Janet was flying to Earth alone. Somehow, it felt right, as if everything was coming full circle. Sure, things were different than when she left. She was more experienced, for one thing. For another, she no longer had Kyle's voice in her head, giving her instruction and advice, but her confidence had grown as well as everything else. Her hand once again moved to the badge on her chest. Finally, a full Green Lantern. A smile crept onto her face.

The blue and green globe of her home planet came into view and Janet slowed and came to a stop. It looked so lonely and vulnerable there, but also so beautiful, like a gem in the black velvet of space. And it was no longer without protection.

A simple act of will summoned her power battery to her hand, and Janet placed her ring against it. First recharge in her home universe as a full Green Lantern. The first of many.

"In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight. Let those who worship evil's might beware my power: Green Lantern's light!"


End file.
